Buttonhole attachment for sewing machines



Jm.` 14, 1930. I F. JJCAMPBELL .1,743,316

BUTToNEoLE ATTACHMENT EOE SEWING- MACHINES Filed March 25. 1925 4s neetssneet 1 @rfa/@4447? Jan. 14, 1930. F. J. CAMPBELL 1,743,316

I BUTTONfIOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES I Filed March 25, 1925 4 sheets-sheet 2 ff d 7 a a lJal. 14,1930. F. J. CAMPBELL 1,743,316

BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed March 25, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jalvl. 14,A 1930. F, J, CAMPBELL 1,743,316 l BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed March 25, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 4m/f 'Pff Patented i Jan. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK J'. CAMPBELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE W. Y

BRIGGS, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS l BU'ITOHOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. l

Application led March 25, 1&25. Serial No. 18,091.y

This invention relates to improvements in button-hole attachments for sewing machines, and has for one of its principal objects the provision of a simple, readily operated device which can be detachably connected with sewing machines of various makes for the rapid making of button-holes.

One of the important objects of this invention is the provision of a button-hole making device which shall be easy of operation, composed of a minimum ofparts, and not likely to get out of order.

Still another and further important object of this invention is to provide, in a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, automatically operating feed means for the cloth, and, further, lautomatic means for shifting the'stitch mechanism from one side to the other so as to form a double row of stitches, between which a slit may4 be cut, thereby forming a completed button-hole.

Other and further important objects of the inventionA will be rapparent from the disclosures'in the accompanying drawings and following specification.

The invention, in a preferred form, is illustrated in thedrawings and hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings: -1

Figure l is a front elevation of the improved button-hole attachment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view, a portion of the cover being broken away, and illustrating the device with the operating parts shown in the same position as in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a top plan view similar to Fig..- ure 2, but with the operatingelements depicted as in the act of shifting the .'line of stitch from one side of the proposed)V buttonhole to the other. j Y

Figure 4 is a view'similar to Figures 2` and 3, and illustrating the'various parts of the apparatus after the shift of the line of stitch has been accomplished, and showingthe button-hole as almost completed.

Figure 5 is an end View, parts being broken away to show the interior construction.

Figure 6 is a perspective View illustrating the construction and operationof' the feed andstitch forming mechanism. Y Figure 7 is a View similar to Figure 6, certain portions being removed and other parts being broken away to show the operation of the automatically reversing feed means.

vFigure 8 is a perspective view illustrating the construction and co-operation of the means for shifting and reversing the line of stitch at one end of the button-hole. l

`Figure 9 is a perspective View illustrating the construction and operation of the means for shifting and reversing the lines of stitch at the other end of the button-hole.

Figure l0 isa perspectivel view illustrating'more particularly the construction of the improved work feeding means. Figure 11 is a perspective view, portions beoperation ofthe oscillating stitch forming mechanism.- y Y Y Figure l2 is a detail View illustratingv the construction of the work-holding element.'

yFigure Ylis an enlargedjperspective View showing a completed*button-hole. As shown in the` drawings: The reference numeral 10 indicates generally a casingin which theapparatus constituting the improvedm button-hole attachment of this invention is mounted, the casing being fitted with a bottom plate 1l. As best illustrated in Figure 5, the rear upper portion of the casing 10 is rounded, as shown at 12,'so as to provide 'a morey compact and more readily constructed apparatus, and'also to allow forV the installationy andeflicient operation of the various adjustments andl co-VA ,if j

operating elements.' Y

Pivotally mounted adj acent'one end of the casing-10 is'an operating armlt, having a slot lng omitted, showing the construction and 16 in the extending end thereof adapted for proper engagement withV the clamping screw of the needle bar of an ordinary sewing machine'. The connection between the "needle bar and the operating arm 14 may be variably adjusted by shifting the connection inthe slot 16, thereby readily accommodating the device to sewing machines having either long or short needle bar strokes. The operating Vtrated at 27.

arm 14 is pivotally mounted on a rotatable shaft 18 and also mounted on this shaft adjacent the operating arm is a pair of ratchet wheels 20 and 22, as best illustrated in Figure 6.

The wheel 20 is fixed to the shaft 18 by means of a key o r the like 24, as shown in Figure 7, the further end of the shaft 18 being formed with screw threads, as illus- The ratchet wheel 22 is fixed to one end of a sleeve 26 rotatably mounted on the shaft 18, and of approximately onethird itsilength, and at the other end of the sleeve is affixed a stitch forming cam wheel 28 having a cam surface as shown. A cotter pin A or Vthe like30 retains the sleeve 26 and its attached members in proper position on the shaft 18-27. Y

A pawl 32 is mounted in a suitable casing 34 on the operating arm 14 and is adapted to co-operate with the corresponding ratchet face of the wheel 22, whereby this wheel and the correspondingV cam wheel 28 will be at allV times rotated in the same direction, as

indicated by theV arrows in Figure 6.

Likewise mounted in the casing 34, and co-operating with the wheel 20, is a pair' of kspring-pressed feed pawls 36,` adapted to selectively co-operate with Asuitable notches in the circumference of the wheel 20, so as to rotate the same and the attached shaft 18 and its screw-threaded portion 27 in either direction. As shown in Figure 7, either one of the pawls 36 canbe held from feeding relation with the face of the wheel 20 by means of integral bent-over projections 38 and 39 inthe edge of a plate element 40posiktioned Vadjacent the wheel 20 and between it and the ratchetwheel 22. A pin 41 mounted in the member 14 prevents overthrow of the plate 40 and its pawl-lifting lugs 38 and 39. An integral outstanding arm 42 with a bentover operating end 44 is provided on the plate 40, the bent-over end 44 being adapted to alternately co-operate with projections 46 and 48, respectively, forming part of an oscillating and longitudinally shiftable car- Vriage 50, asbest illustrated in Figure 9. The

plate 40 and'its integral arm 42-44 is regularly moved'in-unison with the needle bar member 14. This results from` the frictional engagement of pawls 36 with the projections 38 and 39, and the engagement of pin 41 with While sewing along one side Vof thebutton-hole therelative position of plate 40 and lever 14, illustrated in Fig.-

vure 7, is maintained,plate 40 oscillating with lever 14,'being driven in one direction by the frictional contactbetween projection 38 and the upper-pawl 36 and in the other direction `by pin 41 engagingprojection 39. At theY end of thebutton-hole plate 40 is shifted relativelyto lever 14 through arm 42 as. later explained, whereby projection 39 is brought ,under .and in frictional engagement with the ige-3,316

lower pawl 36 and projections 38 is brought into contact with pin 41, and this relative position is maintained as lever 14 oscillates, throughout the sewing of the other side of the buttonhole, wheel 20 and shaft 18 now being intermittently rotated in the opposite direction. Vhen the carriage 50 is in the position illustrated in Figure 4 the end 44 of the arm 42 will contact with the projection 48 and will continue to do so, thereby maintaining the stop 38 under the pawl 36 until such time as the carriage 50 is shifted tothe left in the operation of the device whenfthe next up and down movement of the arm 44V will cause it to'contact with the lower edge of the projection 46, therebyturni'ng the disc` 40Y with relation to the feed wheel 20 Vand allowing the stop member 39to ride under its corresponding pawl 36. When the end 44 contacts with the projection 48 the lug 38 is maintained under the corresponding pawl V36, thereby allowing a wok-feeding movethe face of the cam-wheel 28 'bymeans of compression springs54V (Figure 11). The.

carriage 50 is mountedfor a veryslight longitudinal movementfon the rod 52 and is normally maintained in its left hand position as shown in Figure 9 by the spring 89. v These compression springs 54, areV maintained on suitable extending arms of a plate element 56, which is in turn pivotally mounted on a rod 55 in the lower end ofthe carriage 50, as shown, and the plate 56 is provided with l an attached extension 57 extending outwardly under and connected with the cloth clamping mechanism so as to properly oscillate the same to form the stitches, as best illustrated in Figurespl() and 11. Y

Mounted on the screw-threaded portion 2" of the shaft V18 isa correspondingly screwthreaded element 60 having a pin 62 mounted `in the top thereof, which pin 62 projects V`tion upon corresponding rotation of the shaft 27 .Y Adapted to co-operate with this element 60 are-the upstanding forked ends 63 of a work feed plate 64, which extends downwardly Vover the stitchV forming plate 58 and has its outer end bent over to form a casing or the v like 66', in which is mounted a thumb-screw 68 adapted for suitable co-operation with a cloth clamping element 70. The forward end of this cloth clamping element is forked, as illustrated at 7 2, and attached to this forked end is a rectangular cloth retainer 74 having a suitable slot therein adapted for proper co-operation with the needle of the sewing machine, and which also retains the work in desired position. Plates 64 and 58 are fixedly secured together, the members 58 and 74 constituting the lower and upper portions respectively of a work clamp. The work clamp is fed lengthwise along the line of the buttonhole by parts 60 and 64 (Figure 8) is shifted transversely of the button-hole after each needle penetration by parts 28, 50, and 56 to produce a zigzag stitch along the sides of the button-hole, and is shifted transversely of the original line of stitch atrone end thereof by the operation of parts 60, 8 8, 50, 5l, and 54, and at the other end thereof by parts 86, 63, 50, 89, and 53 in order to carry the seam from one side of the button-hole across the end to the other side.

Mounted on the forward edge of the bottom plate 1l of the machine is a manually adjustable element 76 whereby the length ofthe button-hole to be made can be determined. This element is L-shaped, as shown, and one arm thereof has a slot 78 therein in which operates a thumb-screw 80. As shown in Figure 8, the arm 76 has downwardly turned edges which slidably co-operate with a corresponding rail '82, whereby the adjusting plate 76 will be at all times maintained in proper relation with respect to the bottom 11 and with respect to its cfa-operating elements. An arm 84 extends inwardly from the member 76 and has its end bent over and in the form of a cam 86, with which is adapted to co-operate one of the upstanding forked arms 63 of the work feed plate 64. When the upstanding forked end 63 rides inwardly over the cam face 86 the plate 64, together with the attached work holding members 70, 72, 74, 58, 57, and 56 will be pulled inwardly, thereby shifting the line of stitch from one side of the button-hole to the other, and projecting upwardly and rearwardly from the carriage 50 is an integral arm 88 which is in position to contact with thefmember 60 at the other end of its path of travel on the screw 27, and which, when such contact occurs, will be slightly displaced rearwardly against the tension of the spring 89, the beginning of thisv llines in Figures 2, 3, andz4`.

by coming linto contact; withftheaproj ect-ion 48 (see-Figures@ 'and-9) :on the nextgdownward movement-f ofthepivoted-, armf. 14, thereby causing the-extension 3.8 of the plate.Vv 401150 ride into: position beneath the. uppermost,

paWl; 36 r and allowing the lower pawh 36,; to

1Qperatein= the. peripheraltnotches of the said wheel-20. Meansis providedito preventaccidentaL displacement; off-,the feed'i wheel 20 from its v proper feeding motion, th-is-r means comprising a spring-pressed plunger- 90,-'vr as best Villustratedi in Figure, 5, having its jend .maintainedv in suitable contactar with any; one

of the peripheral notches in the said wheel 20, bymeans of` azleaf springg92f a-,ndfsuitable adjustmentgfon the position of the pinv 9.0,',is

provided by Nmeans yof, screws 94;` mounted] in notches inthe pinsupporting `plate 96 gwhereby the point of; operation of the pinl 9,0;may

be variedtoaccommod'ate itself to different plicity of parts andiminimuminumber there.-

of, 1s economical of manufacture. and.- can therefore be producedfln quantitiesv` socias to be distributedtotlietlargeA number of ownersv of: domestic Vsewing-fmachines to Whom button-hole making attachments; have heretoforebeen inaccessiblefon account'. ofA their prohibitive, expense.` v f The device can beattac-hed. toa ,sewing machine by removingthe,presser-foot ofI the machine and connecting the presser-'foot bar to the lug 97' byy t-he usualv screw fitted into the openingv 98. This method of attaching is made possibleby the incorporation of an integral cloth clamping element into the attachment` itself, as; 70, 72, etc. The feedydog of the sewingmachineoperates in ajsl'ot 99 providedthereforin the bottom` 1'1' of the attachment, this` slot beingfindica ted inV dotted I amaware that many changes; may be made and numerousfdetails of construction Avaried throughoutv a wide range withoutdeparting from Vthe'A principles of' this, invention, andY I tlierefored'o not purpose-,limiting the patent grantedfhereon otherwisefthan as .necessitated by the prior art.

I clainras my invention: Y

l. In a button-hole sewing attachment, the combination of feed means for the work, cornprising a screw threaded shaft and means mounted on the shaft for oscillating the work to form stitches, said oscillating means including a sleeve rotatable on the shaft andi a feed means and a cam wheel affixed to the slee-ve, together with a longitudinally shiftable and transversely oscillatable carriage for supporting the work and means on the carriage for co-operating with the aforesaid cam wheel for forming stitches along two parallel lines in the work, and means for joining the lines of stitch at the ends of said parallel movement, said means including a'manually adjustable cam for -additionally regulating ,the length of Athe button-hole.

2. In a button-hole attachment for sewing machines, a reversible feed means, including a feed wheel, notches in the periphery of the wheel, a pair of selectively operated pawls mounted in co-operative relation4 with the wheel, and automatic means for disengaging one ofl said pawls from operative relation with the Wheel, said'means including a disc mounted adjacentV the wheel, bent-over integral lugs on the disc adapted to ride under the end of'either one of the pawls, and further means co-operating with the disc Yto automatically shift the same into position to allow either one of thesaid pawls to operate.

3; In a button-hole attachment for sewing machines, apivoted feed arm adapted to be variably attached to the needle bar of a sewing machine, a notched feed'wheel, anda ratcheted stitch forming wheel mounted adjacent the pivoted feed arm, pawls on thefeed arm for operating said wheels,and means for preventing accidental reverse operation of the wheels, said means comprising a spring pressed pin mounted adjacent theperiphery of each of said wheels,and an adjustablesupport for the pins..k

4. A devicefor making button-holes, in-

cluding aV reciprocating driving device, a screw driven thereby, a nut on. the screw, work holding means connected to said nut, and shifting means operated by the nut for moving the work laterally at each end of its longitudinal motion, one of' saidY shifting means comprising a `manually adjustable cam. l

i 5. A- device for making button-holes, including a reciprocating driving device, a screw driven thereby, a nut on the screw, workholding means connected to, said nut, and shifting means operated by the nut for moving thework laterally at each end of its longitudinal motion, oneY of saidlshifting means comprising a manually adjustable cam, and the other ofV said shifting means including a lug integral with the work oscillating and stitch forming' means.

In testimony whereof I lafiiX my signature.

FRANK LI. CAMPBELL. 

